Transformation of a maintenance concept through the use of business engineering techniques.
- Authors: Theron, Tertius
- Date: 2012-08-23
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Reliability (Engineering)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3073 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6493
- Description: M.Ing. , Ever since man had invented the wheel, or for that matter any of his first hand tools, he had a definite need to maintain that object. Man did not have any means to predict failures and he had no idea of how to prevent them. He could not plan for these failures and would not know what material and resources to have on hand. He was obviously restricted to a very primitive and elementary form of breakdown maintenance or a sort of run to break strategy as we would call that in modern maintenance terms. His success could only be measured in terms of the time to the next failure. Due to the nonexistence of engineering standards, the large standard deviation in mean time between maintenance (MTBF) values would render these same values rather useless for predictive purposes. This situation restricted our forefathers to a very reactive approach to maintenance. The astonishing present levels of sophistication in man's skills, engineering design and manufacturing came about through revolution and evolution. This indicates a huge amount of change that has taken place over the years and is still taking place today. As the world is in a constant state of change no business organization can escape the effects of operating m a continually evolving landscape. The very forces of change come about typically through industrial globalization, technological advance, political upheaval, the opening up of new markets and the changing expectations of customers that become more knowledgeable and demanding. For any business to respond to customer needs in a satisfactory manner, that business will have to be highly dependent on logistics. As logistics is a major contributor to life cycle cost (Blanchard, 1992: 70-84) and therefor impacts directly on profit margins, there is a growing need for more effective and efficient management of an organization's resources. Logistic support for any organization or plant is a major consideration in the early design stages of any system or organization or plant. From a logistic support perspective it becomes therefor necessary to assure the effective and economical support of a system, organization or plant throughout its programmed life cycle. One of the most important logistic support elements is maintenance. A lot has been said and written about maintenance. A number of well known philosophies and procedures (Blanchard, 1992: 9-25) such as 'planned preventive maintenance' (PPM), `condition based monitoring' (CBM), 'reliability centered maintenance' (RCM), 'total productive maintenance' (TPM), 'just in time' (JIT), 'life cycle costing' (LCC), etc. have been developed over many years and are applied throughout the world today. Techniques such as 'failure mode effect and criticality analysis' (FMECA), 'fault diagnostics', 'quality circles', and others have also been introduced to the industry. However various studies (Willmott, 1990: 17) have shown that present levels of maintenance management effectiveness are still unsatisfactory. One of the most important reasons for this state of affairs is that maintenance is still viewed by many organizations as a technical activity rather than an integrated management discipline. This misconception is then reinforced by several factors such as that the maintenance department is at its most visible when an emergency malfunction occurs. As soon as the malfunction has been restored, production carries on with its activities and no one asks the question why the breakdown was not anticipated before it occurred and disrupted production. A second reason is that maintenance managers view themselves as fire fighters and not as managers. A third reason is that the maintenance department is viewed as an organizational function with unpredictable response times and erratic priorities. All of these prejudices and misconceptions are costing industry dearly. This study will indicate that much can be done to transform the maintenance function of any organization to such an extent that costs are minimized and plant availability is improved that will ultimately lead to higher profit margins.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Theron, Tertius
- Date: 2012-08-23
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Reliability (Engineering)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:3073 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6493
- Description: M.Ing. , Ever since man had invented the wheel, or for that matter any of his first hand tools, he had a definite need to maintain that object. Man did not have any means to predict failures and he had no idea of how to prevent them. He could not plan for these failures and would not know what material and resources to have on hand. He was obviously restricted to a very primitive and elementary form of breakdown maintenance or a sort of run to break strategy as we would call that in modern maintenance terms. His success could only be measured in terms of the time to the next failure. Due to the nonexistence of engineering standards, the large standard deviation in mean time between maintenance (MTBF) values would render these same values rather useless for predictive purposes. This situation restricted our forefathers to a very reactive approach to maintenance. The astonishing present levels of sophistication in man's skills, engineering design and manufacturing came about through revolution and evolution. This indicates a huge amount of change that has taken place over the years and is still taking place today. As the world is in a constant state of change no business organization can escape the effects of operating m a continually evolving landscape. The very forces of change come about typically through industrial globalization, technological advance, political upheaval, the opening up of new markets and the changing expectations of customers that become more knowledgeable and demanding. For any business to respond to customer needs in a satisfactory manner, that business will have to be highly dependent on logistics. As logistics is a major contributor to life cycle cost (Blanchard, 1992: 70-84) and therefor impacts directly on profit margins, there is a growing need for more effective and efficient management of an organization's resources. Logistic support for any organization or plant is a major consideration in the early design stages of any system or organization or plant. From a logistic support perspective it becomes therefor necessary to assure the effective and economical support of a system, organization or plant throughout its programmed life cycle. One of the most important logistic support elements is maintenance. A lot has been said and written about maintenance. A number of well known philosophies and procedures (Blanchard, 1992: 9-25) such as 'planned preventive maintenance' (PPM), `condition based monitoring' (CBM), 'reliability centered maintenance' (RCM), 'total productive maintenance' (TPM), 'just in time' (JIT), 'life cycle costing' (LCC), etc. have been developed over many years and are applied throughout the world today. Techniques such as 'failure mode effect and criticality analysis' (FMECA), 'fault diagnostics', 'quality circles', and others have also been introduced to the industry. However various studies (Willmott, 1990: 17) have shown that present levels of maintenance management effectiveness are still unsatisfactory. One of the most important reasons for this state of affairs is that maintenance is still viewed by many organizations as a technical activity rather than an integrated management discipline. This misconception is then reinforced by several factors such as that the maintenance department is at its most visible when an emergency malfunction occurs. As soon as the malfunction has been restored, production carries on with its activities and no one asks the question why the breakdown was not anticipated before it occurred and disrupted production. A second reason is that maintenance managers view themselves as fire fighters and not as managers. A third reason is that the maintenance department is viewed as an organizational function with unpredictable response times and erratic priorities. All of these prejudices and misconceptions are costing industry dearly. This study will indicate that much can be done to transform the maintenance function of any organization to such an extent that costs are minimized and plant availability is improved that will ultimately lead to higher profit margins.
- Full Text:
The advantages of predictive maintenance as a means to improve the availability of centrifugal slurry pump at Ergo City Deep Plant
- Authors: Martinus, Aroon
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mining machinery - Maintenance and repair , Pumping machinery - Maintenance and repair , Plant maintenance - Management
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/284823 , uj:30776
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Condition monitoring is the process of monitoring a parameter of condition (vibration, temperature etc.) in machinery in order to identify a significant change which is indicative of developing fault. It is a major component of Predictive Maintenance. The use of condition monitoring allows maintenance to be scheduled, or other actions to be taken to prevent failure and it consequences. Predictive Maintenance helps the organization to predict equipment failure before a catastrophic failure can occur. The purpose for implementing Predictive Maintenance in industry is to increase productivity, decrease maintenance costs and downtime, and also to increase safety. In this study, Predictive Maintenance was implemented as a means to improve the availability of a centrifugal slurry pump, and conclusions were made on whether it is a better method than reactive maintenance to minimize equipment downtime and maintenance operation costs. Centrifugal slurry pumps are used in many applications such as in the mining, chemical and in the industrial plants. Ergo City Deep Plant uses centrifugal slurry pumps to pump slurry from its City Deep pumping station to Elsburg pumping station over a distance of about 50 km. Due to unplanned breakdowns, the pumps are not operating at peak efficiency point, and as a result the plant does not meet its monthly production target. Before the implementation of Predictive Maintenance, no planned maintenance strategy was done on the pumps. Ergo City Deep Plant used reactive (breakdown) maintenance, which had escalated the maintenance operating costs year on year. Reactive Maintenance methods result in huge unplanned costs as well as overheads if the budget for maintenance is exceeded in order to restore the pump into working order. Hench in this study, Predictive Maintenance by using Condition Monitoring techniques was used to improve the availability of a centrifugal slurry pump. From the field data the pump availability increased by Predictive Maintenance. The research field data resulted in decrease in downtime and equipment failures, and also reduced maintenance costs. It was concluded that Predictive Maintenance is a better maintenance method than reactive maintenance.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Martinus, Aroon
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Mining machinery - Maintenance and repair , Pumping machinery - Maintenance and repair , Plant maintenance - Management
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/284823 , uj:30776
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Condition monitoring is the process of monitoring a parameter of condition (vibration, temperature etc.) in machinery in order to identify a significant change which is indicative of developing fault. It is a major component of Predictive Maintenance. The use of condition monitoring allows maintenance to be scheduled, or other actions to be taken to prevent failure and it consequences. Predictive Maintenance helps the organization to predict equipment failure before a catastrophic failure can occur. The purpose for implementing Predictive Maintenance in industry is to increase productivity, decrease maintenance costs and downtime, and also to increase safety. In this study, Predictive Maintenance was implemented as a means to improve the availability of a centrifugal slurry pump, and conclusions were made on whether it is a better method than reactive maintenance to minimize equipment downtime and maintenance operation costs. Centrifugal slurry pumps are used in many applications such as in the mining, chemical and in the industrial plants. Ergo City Deep Plant uses centrifugal slurry pumps to pump slurry from its City Deep pumping station to Elsburg pumping station over a distance of about 50 km. Due to unplanned breakdowns, the pumps are not operating at peak efficiency point, and as a result the plant does not meet its monthly production target. Before the implementation of Predictive Maintenance, no planned maintenance strategy was done on the pumps. Ergo City Deep Plant used reactive (breakdown) maintenance, which had escalated the maintenance operating costs year on year. Reactive Maintenance methods result in huge unplanned costs as well as overheads if the budget for maintenance is exceeded in order to restore the pump into working order. Hench in this study, Predictive Maintenance by using Condition Monitoring techniques was used to improve the availability of a centrifugal slurry pump. From the field data the pump availability increased by Predictive Maintenance. The research field data resulted in decrease in downtime and equipment failures, and also reduced maintenance costs. It was concluded that Predictive Maintenance is a better maintenance method than reactive maintenance.
- Full Text:
Predictive maintenance as a means to increase the availability of positive displacement pumps at Ekurhuleni Base Metals
- Authors: Kau, Motlalepula Lawrence
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Industrial equipment - Maintenance and repair , Pumping machinery - Maintenance and repair , Plant maintenance - Management , Total productive maintenance
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233738 , uj:23870
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Condition monitoring is a maintenance technique used to monitor parameters like vibration, overheating, overcurrent of the system or machinery at an early stage of failure; to forecast on the need for maintenance before a catastrophic failure; or to estimate system conditions. It can be achieved through visual inspection or the use of a sophisticated intelligent diagnosis system. Predictive maintenance helps the organisation to predict failure before a catastrophic failure. It is a technique to help the user plan the job that needs to be done on the equipment to prevent an unexpected failure. This technique is central to our research question. This study investigated whether predictive maintenance is the best maintenance strategy to minimise maintenance costs. In predictive maintenance, decisions are made based on the data collected through condition monitoring. Condition monitoring has three steps: data acquisition, data processing and maintenance decision-making. Condition monitoring helps to prevent equipment failure. It also helps to avoid unplanned breakdowns and to optimise maintenance resources by planning maintenance or shutdown as required based on the data collected. Peristaltic pumps, such as LPPT 65 (DN65), are commonly used for pumping slurry. Ekurhuleni Base Metals uses it to pump slurry. Due to several failures, the pumps are not operating at their peak efficiency point. Before the implementation of predictive maintenance, the pumps did not receive regular maintenance. In the past, the organisation did reactive maintenance, and maintenance costs were escalating. Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) helps to understand the root cause of equipment failure, and is commonly used to reduce costs, mean time to failure (MTTF) and mean down time (MDT). If implemented successfully, the organisation benefits significantly in terms of cost savings and/or total elimination of failure. Organisations benefit considerably from implementing Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM). It aims to identify routine maintenance that preserves the system in such a way that costs are acceptable. If preventive maintenance costs are higher than those of operational losses and repair, maintenance will not be beneficial, unless it relates to regulatory, safety or environmental requirements...
- Full Text:
- Authors: Kau, Motlalepula Lawrence
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Industrial equipment - Maintenance and repair , Pumping machinery - Maintenance and repair , Plant maintenance - Management , Total productive maintenance
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233738 , uj:23870
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Condition monitoring is a maintenance technique used to monitor parameters like vibration, overheating, overcurrent of the system or machinery at an early stage of failure; to forecast on the need for maintenance before a catastrophic failure; or to estimate system conditions. It can be achieved through visual inspection or the use of a sophisticated intelligent diagnosis system. Predictive maintenance helps the organisation to predict failure before a catastrophic failure. It is a technique to help the user plan the job that needs to be done on the equipment to prevent an unexpected failure. This technique is central to our research question. This study investigated whether predictive maintenance is the best maintenance strategy to minimise maintenance costs. In predictive maintenance, decisions are made based on the data collected through condition monitoring. Condition monitoring has three steps: data acquisition, data processing and maintenance decision-making. Condition monitoring helps to prevent equipment failure. It also helps to avoid unplanned breakdowns and to optimise maintenance resources by planning maintenance or shutdown as required based on the data collected. Peristaltic pumps, such as LPPT 65 (DN65), are commonly used for pumping slurry. Ekurhuleni Base Metals uses it to pump slurry. Due to several failures, the pumps are not operating at their peak efficiency point. Before the implementation of predictive maintenance, the pumps did not receive regular maintenance. In the past, the organisation did reactive maintenance, and maintenance costs were escalating. Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) helps to understand the root cause of equipment failure, and is commonly used to reduce costs, mean time to failure (MTTF) and mean down time (MDT). If implemented successfully, the organisation benefits significantly in terms of cost savings and/or total elimination of failure. Organisations benefit considerably from implementing Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM). It aims to identify routine maintenance that preserves the system in such a way that costs are acceptable. If preventive maintenance costs are higher than those of operational losses and repair, maintenance will not be beneficial, unless it relates to regulatory, safety or environmental requirements...
- Full Text:
Maintenance management effect on zirconia oxygen analyzer performance : a case study in Natref
- Authors: Mokhele, Lebohang Modupi
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Maintenance - Management , Chemical detectors , Zirconium oxide
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233762 , uj:23873
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Oxygen concentration measurements are used in different applications including energy conservation, pollution reduction and process quality control. The use of these applications is through many different technologies of instruments. Zirconia-based Oxygen Analyzers however, are commonly used for combustion control, burner optimization and to increase the efficiency of boilers and industrial heaters in order to achieve fuel conservation. In this instance, I will be exploring the ZR22G of Yokogawa. The ZR22G is like any other instrument in that; there is a possibility of failure during operation. Therefore using of logistics engineering elements and reliability techniques ensures that the ZR22G is supported effectively thought out its life cycle. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the possible causes of oxygen concentration fluctuating greater or lower by 0.5% on ZR22G compared to a portable oxygen meter, and identify the risks associated with the unit reading higher or lower than the true value and determine the logistic footprint (life cycle support system) of the zirconia oxygen analyzer. The mini dissention uses a qualitative and quantitative approach, a structured questionnaire as well as an analysis of literature. The FMECA and FTA models established that a lower reading than true value is caused by indirect and direct human engagement with the unit and the use of combustible materials during the process. The FMECA and FTA models established a higher reading than true value is also a result of direct or indirect human engagement with the unit, Fly ash and the use of combustible materials during the process. It was established that the risk associated with the failure mode of the unit causes hazards and creates a costly environments. In addition, it was established that incorrect reading of the unit output can cause the process operator to actor incorrectly. Preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance are maintenance activities that are required to support the unit thought-out its life cycle .Furthermore, the use of the convection tube method decreases the effect of fly ash by prolonging the blockage of the ZR22G zirconia sensor. The benefit of this mini dissention is to provide users of the ZR22G with a guide which will assist in finding fault in the ZR22G moreover make them aware of risk associated with the unit not performing optimally.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mokhele, Lebohang Modupi
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Maintenance - Management , Chemical detectors , Zirconium oxide
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233762 , uj:23873
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Oxygen concentration measurements are used in different applications including energy conservation, pollution reduction and process quality control. The use of these applications is through many different technologies of instruments. Zirconia-based Oxygen Analyzers however, are commonly used for combustion control, burner optimization and to increase the efficiency of boilers and industrial heaters in order to achieve fuel conservation. In this instance, I will be exploring the ZR22G of Yokogawa. The ZR22G is like any other instrument in that; there is a possibility of failure during operation. Therefore using of logistics engineering elements and reliability techniques ensures that the ZR22G is supported effectively thought out its life cycle. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the possible causes of oxygen concentration fluctuating greater or lower by 0.5% on ZR22G compared to a portable oxygen meter, and identify the risks associated with the unit reading higher or lower than the true value and determine the logistic footprint (life cycle support system) of the zirconia oxygen analyzer. The mini dissention uses a qualitative and quantitative approach, a structured questionnaire as well as an analysis of literature. The FMECA and FTA models established that a lower reading than true value is caused by indirect and direct human engagement with the unit and the use of combustible materials during the process. The FMECA and FTA models established a higher reading than true value is also a result of direct or indirect human engagement with the unit, Fly ash and the use of combustible materials during the process. It was established that the risk associated with the failure mode of the unit causes hazards and creates a costly environments. In addition, it was established that incorrect reading of the unit output can cause the process operator to actor incorrectly. Preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance are maintenance activities that are required to support the unit thought-out its life cycle .Furthermore, the use of the convection tube method decreases the effect of fly ash by prolonging the blockage of the ZR22G zirconia sensor. The benefit of this mini dissention is to provide users of the ZR22G with a guide which will assist in finding fault in the ZR22G moreover make them aware of risk associated with the unit not performing optimally.
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Improving the reliability of a chemical process plant
- Authors: Tomo, Zonwabele Zweli Simon
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Reliability (Engineering) , Plant maintenance - Management , Chemical plants - Equipment and supplies , SASOL WAX , Engineering instruments , Chemical engineering - Safety measures
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4887
- Description: M.Phil. , In modern society, professional engineers, technologists and technical managers are responsible for the planning, design, manufacture, maintenance and operation of the processes and systems ranging from simple processes to complex systems. The failure of these can often cause effects that range from inconvenience and irritation to severe impact on the society and its environment. Users, customers and society in general expect that products be reliable and safe at all times (Allan & Ballinton 1992). The biggest investment in any plant is, arguably, on individual plant equipment. It is therefore reasonable to give the greatest attention possible to the health and integrity of equipment that form part of the chemical process plant.Most of plant failures occur without warning and this result in equipment breakdowns, huge production losses and expensive maintenance. The reaction to plant failures has, in most cases, been a reactive maintenance which means that the plant equipment must fail before the cause of fault is investigated and the equipment is repaired. Reactive maintenance has shortcomings in that it is successful in solving problems temporarily but does not guarantee prevention of fault recurrence. Equipment and process failures waste money on unreliability problems. The question that arises is. ‘How reliable and safe is the plant during its operating life?’ This question can be answered, in part, by the use of quantitative reliability evaluation. The growing need to achieve high availability for large integrated chemical process systems demands higher levels of reliability at the operational stage. Reliability is the probability of equipment or processes to function without failure when operated correctly for a given interval of time under stated conditions. This research dissertation is aimed at developing equipment optimisation program for the chemical process plant by introducing a logical approach to managing the maintenance of plant equipment. Some relevant reliability theory is discussed and applied to the Short – Path Distillation (SPD) plant of SASOL WAX. An analysis of the failure modes and criticality helps to identify plant equipment that needs special focus during inspection.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Tomo, Zonwabele Zweli Simon
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Reliability (Engineering) , Plant maintenance - Management , Chemical plants - Equipment and supplies , SASOL WAX , Engineering instruments , Chemical engineering - Safety measures
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2427 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4887
- Description: M.Phil. , In modern society, professional engineers, technologists and technical managers are responsible for the planning, design, manufacture, maintenance and operation of the processes and systems ranging from simple processes to complex systems. The failure of these can often cause effects that range from inconvenience and irritation to severe impact on the society and its environment. Users, customers and society in general expect that products be reliable and safe at all times (Allan & Ballinton 1992). The biggest investment in any plant is, arguably, on individual plant equipment. It is therefore reasonable to give the greatest attention possible to the health and integrity of equipment that form part of the chemical process plant.Most of plant failures occur without warning and this result in equipment breakdowns, huge production losses and expensive maintenance. The reaction to plant failures has, in most cases, been a reactive maintenance which means that the plant equipment must fail before the cause of fault is investigated and the equipment is repaired. Reactive maintenance has shortcomings in that it is successful in solving problems temporarily but does not guarantee prevention of fault recurrence. Equipment and process failures waste money on unreliability problems. The question that arises is. ‘How reliable and safe is the plant during its operating life?’ This question can be answered, in part, by the use of quantitative reliability evaluation. The growing need to achieve high availability for large integrated chemical process systems demands higher levels of reliability at the operational stage. Reliability is the probability of equipment or processes to function without failure when operated correctly for a given interval of time under stated conditions. This research dissertation is aimed at developing equipment optimisation program for the chemical process plant by introducing a logical approach to managing the maintenance of plant equipment. Some relevant reliability theory is discussed and applied to the Short – Path Distillation (SPD) plant of SASOL WAX. An analysis of the failure modes and criticality helps to identify plant equipment that needs special focus during inspection.
- Full Text:
Implementation of manufacturing and total productive maintenance principles : a South African perspective
- Authors: Ndiweni, Busani
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Total productive maintenance , Plant maintenance - Management , Just-in-time systems , Total quality management
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233721 , uj:23868
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: The study is based on A South African perspective in the implementation of manufacturing and total productive Maintenance (TPM), methodologies and strategies in fast moving consumer goods organizations in South Africa. Major developments have occurred recently in the improvement of asset care systems in South Africa so that the manufacturing plants are operating optimally and minimizing the cost of production. These asset care management philosophies and systems are constantly being optimized, in the true spirit of continuous improvement. The strive for optimum proactive maintenance through the use of just in- time (JIT) and total quality-management (TQM) techniques gave rise to what is termed the total productivemaintenance (TPM) approach and together these concepts have given rise to what is now referred to as World class manufacturing (WCM). This study explores the ways in which South African fast moving consumer goods manufacturing companies can implement WCM and TPM concepts as an organization wide culture for improving its factory performance and reliability. World class manufacturing and total productive manufacturing is a larger companywide program compared to its predecessors. There is much more emphasis now by organizations on being a low cost, demand driven, consumer focused and customer orientated supply chain. The WCM and TPM tools are ways to engage the whole supply chain in clearly identifying problems, and providing corrective and preventative actions to ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction are attained. The major objectives are optimized processes, culture change, employee involvement and proactive processes and these provide the organizations with the ability and flexibility to reduce and eliminate all forms of waste within their supply chain systems. Organizations need to instill a sense of ownership and mutual accountability to their staff, through employee involvement and empowerment initiatives. High skills retention and motivation levels can be achieved in this way and this can greatly reduce the employee turnover rates. Employers need to develop employee suggestion schemes where they give and seek feedback and respond with actions. The South African labor market has become very strike prone and as a result a lot less competitive compared to their overseas counterparts, especially in the mining sector. This has been witnessed in South Africa recently in the Platinum mining sector which is the largest platinum producer in the world. These labor unrests and work stoppages have resulted in some shareholders threatening to pull out, and loss of income by both the mine employees and employers. This unfortunate state of affairs impacts negatively on the South African economy, and greatly frustrates foreign direct investment which is needed to grow the gross domestic product of the nation. WCM implementation is not an overnight endeavor but rather a journey that takes years to accomplish and requires additional training and development of the workforce. These concepts and principles will be greatly explored at length in this research study to uncover the win-win potential gains that might exist for the consumer, customer, employee and South African FMCG companies.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ndiweni, Busani
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Total productive maintenance , Plant maintenance - Management , Just-in-time systems , Total quality management
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/233721 , uj:23868
- Description: M.Phil. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: The study is based on A South African perspective in the implementation of manufacturing and total productive Maintenance (TPM), methodologies and strategies in fast moving consumer goods organizations in South Africa. Major developments have occurred recently in the improvement of asset care systems in South Africa so that the manufacturing plants are operating optimally and minimizing the cost of production. These asset care management philosophies and systems are constantly being optimized, in the true spirit of continuous improvement. The strive for optimum proactive maintenance through the use of just in- time (JIT) and total quality-management (TQM) techniques gave rise to what is termed the total productivemaintenance (TPM) approach and together these concepts have given rise to what is now referred to as World class manufacturing (WCM). This study explores the ways in which South African fast moving consumer goods manufacturing companies can implement WCM and TPM concepts as an organization wide culture for improving its factory performance and reliability. World class manufacturing and total productive manufacturing is a larger companywide program compared to its predecessors. There is much more emphasis now by organizations on being a low cost, demand driven, consumer focused and customer orientated supply chain. The WCM and TPM tools are ways to engage the whole supply chain in clearly identifying problems, and providing corrective and preventative actions to ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction are attained. The major objectives are optimized processes, culture change, employee involvement and proactive processes and these provide the organizations with the ability and flexibility to reduce and eliminate all forms of waste within their supply chain systems. Organizations need to instill a sense of ownership and mutual accountability to their staff, through employee involvement and empowerment initiatives. High skills retention and motivation levels can be achieved in this way and this can greatly reduce the employee turnover rates. Employers need to develop employee suggestion schemes where they give and seek feedback and respond with actions. The South African labor market has become very strike prone and as a result a lot less competitive compared to their overseas counterparts, especially in the mining sector. This has been witnessed in South Africa recently in the Platinum mining sector which is the largest platinum producer in the world. These labor unrests and work stoppages have resulted in some shareholders threatening to pull out, and loss of income by both the mine employees and employers. This unfortunate state of affairs impacts negatively on the South African economy, and greatly frustrates foreign direct investment which is needed to grow the gross domestic product of the nation. WCM implementation is not an overnight endeavor but rather a journey that takes years to accomplish and requires additional training and development of the workforce. These concepts and principles will be greatly explored at length in this research study to uncover the win-win potential gains that might exist for the consumer, customer, employee and South African FMCG companies.
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Critical success factors for the implementation of reliability centered maintenance
- Authors: Ramagaga, Thakane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Plant maintenance , Electric power-plants - Maintenance and repair
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/280141 , uj:30097
- Description: M.Ing. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Power utilities are faced with a challenge of sustaining the continuity of supply by reducing the frequency and durations of power interruptions and outages. There is also an increasing expectation and responsibility to meet the escalating electricity supply demands while maintaining the required level of reliability and customer satisfaction. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) has been implemented by various industries to promptly identify and mitigate equipment failure with the aim of improving overall system reliability and availability. Studies have been conducted on the RCM process highlighting the process steps and analysis to be followed during the implementation. This research study is focused on introducing a cost effective maintenance strategy for Power Utility X which is responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity to its customers. This research analyses and compares nine case studies that were conducted for various industries including; rail, chemical, electricity, oil, and marine defence. The research explores the best practices in achieving a successful RCM strategy and the benefits of the strategy to the organisation. The adopted case study method provides an in depth knowledge and experience on how various organisations approached the RCM implementation and the results thereafter. This research study proposes five key success drivers which Power Utility X can adopt in order to achieve a successful RCM program implementation namely: support, training, team competency, culture change and the use of a pilot project. The research further identifies the benefits that are attributed to a successful RCM program which includes: reduced preventive maintenance costs, reduced corrective maintenance costs, reduced labour costs, reduced outage costs, reduced spare parts costs, increased plant availability, increased plant reliability, reduced maintenance frequency and an increase in production. This research has provided an experienced view on factors that can be considered in order to achieve a successful RCM implementation and the typical benefits that can result from a successful RCM program.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Ramagaga, Thakane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Plant maintenance , Electric power-plants - Maintenance and repair
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/280141 , uj:30097
- Description: M.Ing. (Engineering Management) , Abstract: Power utilities are faced with a challenge of sustaining the continuity of supply by reducing the frequency and durations of power interruptions and outages. There is also an increasing expectation and responsibility to meet the escalating electricity supply demands while maintaining the required level of reliability and customer satisfaction. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) has been implemented by various industries to promptly identify and mitigate equipment failure with the aim of improving overall system reliability and availability. Studies have been conducted on the RCM process highlighting the process steps and analysis to be followed during the implementation. This research study is focused on introducing a cost effective maintenance strategy for Power Utility X which is responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity to its customers. This research analyses and compares nine case studies that were conducted for various industries including; rail, chemical, electricity, oil, and marine defence. The research explores the best practices in achieving a successful RCM strategy and the benefits of the strategy to the organisation. The adopted case study method provides an in depth knowledge and experience on how various organisations approached the RCM implementation and the results thereafter. This research study proposes five key success drivers which Power Utility X can adopt in order to achieve a successful RCM program implementation namely: support, training, team competency, culture change and the use of a pilot project. The research further identifies the benefits that are attributed to a successful RCM program which includes: reduced preventive maintenance costs, reduced corrective maintenance costs, reduced labour costs, reduced outage costs, reduced spare parts costs, increased plant availability, increased plant reliability, reduced maintenance frequency and an increase in production. This research has provided an experienced view on factors that can be considered in order to achieve a successful RCM implementation and the typical benefits that can result from a successful RCM program.
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Applying preventive and predictive maintenance best practice on plant maintenance
- Authors: Tshabuse, Fulufhelo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Machinery - Maintenance and repair , Machinery - Service life
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/212986 , uj:21063
- Description: Abstract: Quite often in the industrial environment engineers are required to justify the addition or change of equipment when companies venture into investing in capital to increase production capacity or improve efficiency. Aged and outdated machinery and equipment are at times not economical to re-fabricate due to the improvement in manufacturing methods and obsolescence of old technology. Maintenance of machinery is often not done as it should be to achieve optimum availability where policies don’t exist. Technological improvement has resulted in less robust, advanced and often more complex designs where modern technology replaces older designs making the old designs more expensive to produce in some cases. As a consequence the re-fabrication of old equipment becomes difficult to justify with the high cost. The maintenance cost of previous equipment also does not compare to modern equipment and negatively affects the competitiveness of organisations against their peers that utilize modern methods. The solution to staying competitive is to re-design, upgrade equipment, change maintenance policy or introduce technology. This research will highlight methods that can be utilized to ensure that the reliability and availability of equipment remains at an acceptable level and also show evidence of improvement in reliability of equipment due to re-design and through continuous improvement initiatives at Everite Building Products a manufacturer of fibre cement products. , M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
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- Authors: Tshabuse, Fulufhelo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Machinery - Maintenance and repair , Machinery - Service life
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/212986 , uj:21063
- Description: Abstract: Quite often in the industrial environment engineers are required to justify the addition or change of equipment when companies venture into investing in capital to increase production capacity or improve efficiency. Aged and outdated machinery and equipment are at times not economical to re-fabricate due to the improvement in manufacturing methods and obsolescence of old technology. Maintenance of machinery is often not done as it should be to achieve optimum availability where policies don’t exist. Technological improvement has resulted in less robust, advanced and often more complex designs where modern technology replaces older designs making the old designs more expensive to produce in some cases. As a consequence the re-fabrication of old equipment becomes difficult to justify with the high cost. The maintenance cost of previous equipment also does not compare to modern equipment and negatively affects the competitiveness of organisations against their peers that utilize modern methods. The solution to staying competitive is to re-design, upgrade equipment, change maintenance policy or introduce technology. This research will highlight methods that can be utilized to ensure that the reliability and availability of equipment remains at an acceptable level and also show evidence of improvement in reliability of equipment due to re-design and through continuous improvement initiatives at Everite Building Products a manufacturer of fibre cement products. , M.Ing. (Engineering Management)
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An investigation into the improvement of maintenance quality in a production plant through the use of reliability management
- Authors: Munzhelele, Fulufhelo E.
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Reliability (Engineering)
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/437484 , uj:37988
- Description: Abstract: Extensive research has been conducted on plant reliability maintenance. However, getting the maintenance system in place remains the core of maintenance improvement. The purpose of this research dissertation is to investigate the impact reliability management has within production industries and its role in improving the quality of maintenance. This study will assist management to reflect on the costeffectiveness and influence that the maintenance management system has within the organisation. The study will also contribute to existing knowledge in plant reliability maintenance. It is, therefore, significant for an organisation to establish good management practices and set maintenance as an integral part of their overall plant strategy. The approach that was followed by this research is a mixed method – a combination of quantitative and qualitative. Data collection was carried out through a literature review, observations, a questionnaire, a survey, interviews and from company documentation. An employee questionnaire was prepared and distributed to 25 participants to conduct gap analysis and evaluate the maintenance practices within the observed company. A benchmark study was also performed using an online survey, based on 85 responses from employees in other processing plant industries within South Africa. The empirical study conducted with Company A’s employees (mainly from the maintenance and operation departments) identified possible blunders, which transpired during the reliability management system implementation phase. Based on this sample the results obtained indicated that maintenance is done unnecessarily on the plant on average. The study also found issues regarding maintenance financial planning ineffectiveness, unavailability of spares and lack of skillsets to perform jobs. The online survey revealed that organisations do make use of Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to facilitate their maintenance. CMMS also has a positive impact on the overall maintenance processes and productivity. The study identified the importance of planning and scheduling shutdowns in advance, as a significant part of the maintenance annual budget and cost reduction. .. , M.Phil. (Engineering Management)
- Full Text:
- Authors: Munzhelele, Fulufhelo E.
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Reliability (Engineering)
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/437484 , uj:37988
- Description: Abstract: Extensive research has been conducted on plant reliability maintenance. However, getting the maintenance system in place remains the core of maintenance improvement. The purpose of this research dissertation is to investigate the impact reliability management has within production industries and its role in improving the quality of maintenance. This study will assist management to reflect on the costeffectiveness and influence that the maintenance management system has within the organisation. The study will also contribute to existing knowledge in plant reliability maintenance. It is, therefore, significant for an organisation to establish good management practices and set maintenance as an integral part of their overall plant strategy. The approach that was followed by this research is a mixed method – a combination of quantitative and qualitative. Data collection was carried out through a literature review, observations, a questionnaire, a survey, interviews and from company documentation. An employee questionnaire was prepared and distributed to 25 participants to conduct gap analysis and evaluate the maintenance practices within the observed company. A benchmark study was also performed using an online survey, based on 85 responses from employees in other processing plant industries within South Africa. The empirical study conducted with Company A’s employees (mainly from the maintenance and operation departments) identified possible blunders, which transpired during the reliability management system implementation phase. Based on this sample the results obtained indicated that maintenance is done unnecessarily on the plant on average. The study also found issues regarding maintenance financial planning ineffectiveness, unavailability of spares and lack of skillsets to perform jobs. The online survey revealed that organisations do make use of Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to facilitate their maintenance. CMMS also has a positive impact on the overall maintenance processes and productivity. The study identified the importance of planning and scheduling shutdowns in advance, as a significant part of the maintenance annual budget and cost reduction. .. , M.Phil. (Engineering Management)
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An assessment of strategic maintenance management
- Authors: Vosloo, Devan Wessel
- Date: 2014-09-23
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Steel industry and trade
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:12379 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12162
- Description: M.Ing. (Engineering Management) , Since the beginning of the knowledge era, individuals powered their ideals on the 20th century’s industrial knowledge age, also defined as “the power of knowledge”. The modern day knowledge era will use the collective intelligence of diverse groups to collaborate for specific purposes and objectives. Society and education developed from the “know what” and “know how” age to “what is the best way”. (NZCER, 2010) Leading into the 21st century, organisations are forced to adapt to a new state of mind and use a diverse knowledge spectrum to solve the problems of the future. This mind-set is being challenged by a recent recession and cautious investment future. The recession initiated a negative impact on the global markets and forced most organisations to become innovative and use their collective knowledge. (NZCER, 2010) This investigation is based on an increment of the global corporate environment. The collective thinking principle can be used to achieve success in an organisation based on a first and third world country, i.e. South Africa. The concern, Hall Longmore (Pty) Ltd. opened its doors to a 21st century strategic solution in respect of its maintenance department. Maintenance at the concern is currently a decentralised employee structure, where the current culture of the group impacts negatively on the performance of the department. During the industrial age this would have been solved by implementing autocratic structures and strict discipline on employees. This management style is feasible in the short term, but how do employees stay motivated, creative and innovative over time? World class maintenance programs need a clear vision to become a unified labour force functioning with an innovative and creative approach. The key aspects of the initial state need to be investigated and understood before decisions can begin towards reinstating the desired culture and behaviour. The aim of this dissertation is to change the paradigm of the autocratic 20th century management style relating to the maintenance function, which aims to decrease cost and increase reliability and availability to a more performance driven culture and integrated workforce, which will create a high performance concern through its actions.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Vosloo, Devan Wessel
- Date: 2014-09-23
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Steel industry and trade
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:12379 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12162
- Description: M.Ing. (Engineering Management) , Since the beginning of the knowledge era, individuals powered their ideals on the 20th century’s industrial knowledge age, also defined as “the power of knowledge”. The modern day knowledge era will use the collective intelligence of diverse groups to collaborate for specific purposes and objectives. Society and education developed from the “know what” and “know how” age to “what is the best way”. (NZCER, 2010) Leading into the 21st century, organisations are forced to adapt to a new state of mind and use a diverse knowledge spectrum to solve the problems of the future. This mind-set is being challenged by a recent recession and cautious investment future. The recession initiated a negative impact on the global markets and forced most organisations to become innovative and use their collective knowledge. (NZCER, 2010) This investigation is based on an increment of the global corporate environment. The collective thinking principle can be used to achieve success in an organisation based on a first and third world country, i.e. South Africa. The concern, Hall Longmore (Pty) Ltd. opened its doors to a 21st century strategic solution in respect of its maintenance department. Maintenance at the concern is currently a decentralised employee structure, where the current culture of the group impacts negatively on the performance of the department. During the industrial age this would have been solved by implementing autocratic structures and strict discipline on employees. This management style is feasible in the short term, but how do employees stay motivated, creative and innovative over time? World class maintenance programs need a clear vision to become a unified labour force functioning with an innovative and creative approach. The key aspects of the initial state need to be investigated and understood before decisions can begin towards reinstating the desired culture and behaviour. The aim of this dissertation is to change the paradigm of the autocratic 20th century management style relating to the maintenance function, which aims to decrease cost and increase reliability and availability to a more performance driven culture and integrated workforce, which will create a high performance concern through its actions.
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A study into the effect of human error on substandard maintenance performance, and the formulation of a complete solution based on the experience of successful maintenance organisations
- Authors: Nkosi, Mfundo S.
- Date: 2015-10-26
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Total productive maintenance , Human-machine systems , Mineral industries
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14975
- Description: M.Phil. (Mechanical Engineering) , The coal mining industry plays a major role in the global economy. Coal is required for the provision of primary energy needs, generation of electricity and production of steel. Hence, there is a high demand of coal worldwide. For the continuous supply of coal, mining equipment should be in good working conditions and the maintenance teams should be highly equipped and motivated to perform their maintenance activities ...
- Full Text:
- Authors: Nkosi, Mfundo S.
- Date: 2015-10-26
- Subjects: Plant maintenance - Management , Total productive maintenance , Human-machine systems , Mineral industries
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:14453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14975
- Description: M.Phil. (Mechanical Engineering) , The coal mining industry plays a major role in the global economy. Coal is required for the provision of primary energy needs, generation of electricity and production of steel. Hence, there is a high demand of coal worldwide. For the continuous supply of coal, mining equipment should be in good working conditions and the maintenance teams should be highly equipped and motivated to perform their maintenance activities ...
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